Indian Springs School: Difference between revisions

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| head-type=Head of School
| head-type=Head of School
| principal=Sharon Howell
| principal=Sharon Howell
| enrollment=307 | enroll-year=2017
| enrollment=309 | enroll-year=2020
| colors=red and white | mascot=Springs
| colors=maroon & gray | mascot=none
| address=190 Woodward Drive
| address=190 Woodward Drive
| city=Indian Springs Village
| city=Indian Springs Village
| website=[http://www.indiansprings.org/ www.indiansprings.org]
| website=[http://www.indiansprings.org/ www.indiansprings.org]
}}
}}
'''Indian Springs School''' is an 8th-12th grade boarding and day school at 190 [[Woodward Drive]], at the base of [[Oak Mountain]] in [[Indian Springs Village]], [[Shelby County]]. As of [[2017]] the school has 307 students. [[Sharon Howell]] is Head of School.
'''Indian Springs School''' is an 8th-12th grade boarding and day school at 190 [[Woodward Drive]], at the base of [[Oak Mountain]] in [[Indian Springs Village]], [[Shelby County]]. As of [[2017]] the school has 307 students. [[Scott Schamberger]] is Head of School.


==History==
==History==
Line 39: Line 39:


===Heads of School===
===Heads of School===
* [[Louis E. Armstrong]], 1952-1972
* [[Louis E. Armstrong]], 1952–1972
* [[Joseph Jackson (Indian Springs)|Joseph Jackson]], 1972-1986
* [[Joseph Jackson (Indian Springs)|Joseph Jackson]], 1972–1986
* [[MacDonald Fleming]] (interim), 1986-1987
** [[MacDonald Fleming]] (interim), 1986–1987
* [[Douglas Jennings]], 1987-2002
* [[Douglas Jennings]], 1987–2002
* [[Mel MacKay]], 2002-2007
* [[Mel MacKay]], 2002–2007
* [[Lee Pierson]] (interim), 2007-2008
* [[Lee Pierson]] (interim), 2007–2008
* [[Gareth Vaughan]], 2008-2016
* [[Gareth Vaughan]], 2008–2016
* [[Sharon Howell]], 2016-
* [[Sharon Howell]], 2016–
** [[Don North]] (interim), 2019–2020
* [[Scott Schamberger]], 2020–
 
<!--1. Our total enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year was 309 students.
2. Sharon Howell is no longer Head of School.
3. Our Interim Head of School for the 2019-2020 school year is Don North. https://www.indiansprings.org/about/head-of-school-welcome
4. Our incoming Head of School is Scott Schamberger. https://www.indiansprings.org/news-detail?pk=1202270&fromId=217890
5. Our school colors are maroon and grey (not red and white).
6. We do not have a mascot. Can you list it as none, please?
7. Please remove John Lusco and Ray Woodard from the list of "Notable faculty."-->


==Notable faculty==
==Notable faculty==
* [[Clay Colvin]]
* [[MacDonald Fleming]]
* [[MacDonald Fleming]]
* [[John Lusco]]
* [[John Lusco]]

Revision as of 13:32, 22 May 2020

Indian Springs School
Indian Springs School shield.jpg
Established 1952
School type Private
District N/A
Grades 8-12
Head of School Sharon Howell
Enrollment 309 (2020)
Colors maroon & gray
Mascot none
Location 190 Woodward Drive
Indian Springs Village
Website www.indiansprings.org

Indian Springs School is an 8th-12th grade boarding and day school at 190 Woodward Drive, at the base of Oak Mountain in Indian Springs Village, Shelby County. As of 2017 the school has 307 students. Scott Schamberger is Head of School.

History

Indian Springs School was founded in 1952 by Birmingham businessman Harvey G. Woodward, who left the funds and instructions for creating the school in his will at his death in 1930.

Woodward wanted to make the school available to both Alabama's elite and rural poor (though he stipulated that only white male gentiles should be admitted). These restrictions have all been challenged and abolished. He also instructed that the school should champion a holistic approach to learning (the school's motto is "Discere Vivendo'," or "Learning Through Living"). During its first years, students tended to the 350-acre working farm on the property when not in class. Though the farmwork was soon eliminated from the curriculum, the concept of integrated learning remains central to the school's mission.

The first buildings were designed by Warren, Knight & Davis. The school opened with ten staff members and 60 students. The first director of the school was Louis E. Armstrong. He made several changes to Woodward's original plans for the school, most notably reversing Woodward's request that the school not be preparatory. History teacher MacDonald Fleming, still teaching in 2007, was part of the original faculty.

By 1960 the school had 130 students, all aged 9 to 12. Tuition at the time was $2,000 per year for boarding students. That fall, physics teacher Richard Jones won approval to construct a tilting demonstration classroom which he called a "Truth House". In 1963 basketball, volleyball and track coach Ray Woodard reintroduced the sport of soccer to Alabama with his first team, which had to travel out-of-state to find opponents.

By the 1970s, the school had grown to include equal numbers of day students and boarders. An 8th grade was added, and the school became coeducational in 1975.

Indian Springs School was the first boarding school in the United States to be recognized by the Malone Family Foundation, which provided a $2-million grant to underwrite tuition and other expenses for gifted students whose families could not otherwise afford an independent school.

In 2012 the school's board of governors approved a major overhaul of the campus, designed by Lake/Flato of San Antonio, Texas in association with Birmingham's ArchitectureWorks. The first phase of work involved constructing new art studios and classrooms. The Leo Kayser Jr Academic Center, housing advising offices, a technology center, library and research services, was named in recognition of a $2 million gift from the estate of alumnus and former board member Leo Kayser Jr.

The title of "Director" was changed to "Head of School" with the hiring of Sharon Howell to succeed Gareth Vaughan in 2016.

In January 2017, Indian Springs School had 307 students from 13 states and eight countries, 72% of whom were day students and 28% of whom were boarding. There were 155 boys and 152 girls.

Indian Springs School was a major inspiration for the novel Looking For Alaska by alumnus John Green.

In June 2019 the chair of Indian Springs' Board of Governors, Alan Engel, sent a letter addressed to the "Indian Springs School Community" to report on the findings of an investigation by the Portsmouth, New Hampshire law firm Jackson Lewis into reports of "educator sexual misconduct" occurring at the school over several decades. The investigation found evidence that at least five former faculty members— including Marvin Balch, Tim Thomas and Lee Watkins— had participated on ongoing sexual misconduct with students. None of those named in the letter were still associated with the school.

Heads of School


Notable faculty

Notable alumni

References

External links

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